National Aviary Reviews

Great place, clean, friendly staff, kid-friendly lunch options.

We loved it. And the birds seemed to love us in the grasslands and tropical rainforest as they flew so close. Thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

Bought the membership but haven't gone back. It's a nice relaxing time and really enjoyed viewing the penguins!

You don't have to love birds to come here! It's entertaining and informative. You can get very, very close to the birds in a couple exhibits.

very pretty, informative and relaxing. it exceeded my expectations

Very nice but not much to see. I wish they would expand it about more or reduced the prices

Such a cool place to visit , cheap and very kid friendly!

It's a wonderland.... The rainforest and wetlands has more than 40 species of birds, different plant varieties. Visitors are allowed to feed the birds. Volunteers and people guide us well. There is an entry fee of $17 for adults. Membership is also available.

Awesome variety of birds to see. Also, a beautiful place for the wedding I attended there. I will visit again next time I'm in Pittsburgh to see more.

Great local venue. Reasonable admissions plus extra activities like feeding animals, penguin experience, feeding birds (some extra some free). Amazon section under construction but I felt like I wasn't missing anything. Overall great experience!

I love visiting the National Aviary! You can see birds up close that you never see in the wild. The gift shop is awesome.

An excellent opportunity to be educated about many many birds. And a live and interactive ahow, too. I strongly recommend it.

Awesome!!!! Great affordable day out. Very interactive and informative.

This place is always an enjoyable time either on a date or with the kiddos. We have been there several times throughout the year and the kids are able to enjoy themselves on many different levers; it doesn't get old and there are always new things to discover.

Fun and educational for all ages! Birds from all around the world. Various interactive activities (at extra charge) to participate in.

Wonderful place with such beautiful birds! It's extraordinary to come with the family and enjoy the magnificent creatures.

Amazing for bird lovers and there's food!!! Good for children and its pretty relaxing and sometimes quiet

Love seeing the birds like this. It's amazing to experience it. Admission price is ok, could maybe be a little better considering but I get they need to feed all those magnificent animals. Definitely worth a visit whether big or small

Great. The staff are wonderful and the birds are fascinating!

Very educational and interesting. Expensive admissions though. Atrium area is beautiful and you can feed the parrots.

Love going to brunch and see different animals. A lot to see and learn.

Even if you don't have time to go in, stop by and see the Bald Eagles, Snowy Owls and Condors in the outside pen. Very cool to be able to just walk by and see them.

An enjoyable day out. We saw lots of beautiful birds and even got to see Wookie the sloth out and about.

One of my favorite places to visit. Love the different exhibits and even feeding the parrots are so fun. I can spend the whole day here.

We went to the aviary during our staycation. It is very clean and, other than the bat area, not smelly. We spent about an hour and a half visiting all the various exhibits. We saw flamingos, snowy egrets (my favorite), eagles, penguins, a condor, finches, canaries, and many other species. It can be really noisy when the birds get excited.

After our visit, we spent an additional half hour strolling around Lake Elizabeth in the adjacent park.

Great place for a unique date. Pay a little extra and feed the birds, it's magical!

The aviary is so nice! Very friendly staff, great exhibits, highly recommend.

I wanted to give this place 4 stars, but I just couldn't. It is a bit overpriced for what it is. There is honestly not much to the place and does not take much time to navigate through. We walked through twice just to feel we were getting our money's worth. One other negative was the rude lady working the front desk. There really should be a friendlier person there as she is the first and last person people see as they come and go. There were some positives also. Most of the birds were very easy to see. The sloth, bald eagle and condors were favorites of ours. It being a smaller attraction would be a positive for an older person or someone having trouble getting around. There is a small snack bar, with a spacious place to eat. Bathrooms were well kept and the place seemed very clean overall.

Penguin feeding is definitely worth its price. The unique experience you can get nowhere except Pittsburgh

Interesting place to visit, especially with kids. Place is well maintained. We had gone for lorikeet n aracari feeding...it was fun n totally worth it. On entering the rainforest area, with trees and water flowing below n all the bird noises, it gives a feeling as if stepped into a jungle. Variety of birds and was fun to watch them. The shop also has lots of interesting stuff. The cafeteria was a disappointment...not much space to sit or items on the menu but reasonable prices.

Very cool, interactive exhibits, fun for all ages. Nothing else like it in country

They have penguin encounters!!! They feel like a winter jacket!!!

Fed the loraketes, awesome experience.very friendly staff,clean bathrooms and a safe environment.even posed on a bench with a friendly bird.

So interactive even for an adult. I would choose this any day over the zoo!

Some really neat exhibits! And the baby sloth is ridiculously adorable.

We had a lovely time. The place is a bit small so I wouldn t plan to spend all day but the habitats are beautifully assembled and the free roaming birds were amazing to see up close.

Great place, my wife and I enjoyed. I wish it could be bigger but i definitely recommend this place

Such a great place to get up close to birds, learn about them, and learn about the conservation efforts that the team there participates in.

Hands down the best thing I've ever done. Truly amazing. Staff was great and i got to hold an owl Im obsessed. My forst time in Pennsylvania as well. I had a great time.

Great place for taking out of town guests, especially children. Check out the times on the various demonstrations and shows, because the two I've happened to stumble on (the bat feeding and the tropical bird demo) were well worth the large crowd. No extra charge! It's a great addition to the Children's Museum, but I'd say go beforehand and take on the Children's museum after lunch because that place is exhausting!

Great aviary with a good mix of birds. Several rooms with birds flying freely and a great penguin exhibit. Perfect for size for younger kids easy to get through in an hour or two.

Spent over 60 bucks for a family of four for an hour and a half of our time. Charging 15 bucks for a 2 year old who could care less about birds is ridiculous. The place isn't very big. Spend your money at the zoo or living treasures and kill 4 hours of your time instead.

Very good place to take kids. There's several exhibits and a few scheduled things to see and do everyday. A little cafeteria and cafe is just inside the entrance. There's some outdoor areas as well, especially when the weather permits, but most things are inside. Works pretty well for a rainy day activity. The only reason not a five star review might be slightly expensive for the time it takes to see everything.

Kind of small and overpriced, but a neat experience.

"This is a great place to bring your family and especially your children."

A few of the displays are nice but this place needs to be built up and modernized. The size of some of the bird enclosures is small. Reminds me of an old zoo where animals had little room to spread there wings. For event planning, such as weddings, they're great.

Sad was under construction party...but loved seeing Olivia...

It's a wonderful experience with birds and more also there is a sloth that lives in the aviary lol

It was fun but there wasn't too much to do with kids under 6 years old. A lot of birds but that's about it.

Only a few select species of birds. Not at all worth the 15$ a person plus paid parking that it costs to get in. You can easily see everything there at a slow pace within 30 min.

Came for RADical days. Amazing and accommodating atmosphere

I thought it was going to be bigger, given the admission cost.

Absolutely wonderful place for bird-lovers of all ages. Adult individual tickets are $17 each, and lorikeet feeding is $3 per person. They also have a Toco Toucan that you can feed for $5 per person. Great for a Saturday or Sunday outing!

So many beautiful and interesting birds here. You can participate in a lorikeet feeding, as well as go on penguin encounters and watch the flying foxes get a snack of fresh fruit. There's even a sloth!

Had such a fun time at this facility. It is a little small but still worth a visit. We had fun doing the virtual reality flying over NYC and the live show on the roof but be aware there isn t any shade and it takes a while to get the show started so bring water and a hat.

Has a nice bird house for birds and also a llnice lake view it has ... And friendly dog park

Small, but immersive. Short attention spans welcome!

We had wanted to go to the zoo but the rain was a downpour, so instead we headed to the Aviary. The last time we went it had been a free day and the place was crowded and uncomfortable, but for a typical Sunday in spring it was free-flowing. We found street parking a block away (free since it was Sunday) and as we approached we were greeted with a nice, menacing view of the condor as it attempted to dry out its wings from its outdoor perch.

There s a small gift shop as you enter and, even though there was a line the multiple cashiers got the two of us paid up. It was about $17 per adult (more or less the same as the zoo). There are many add-on options like feedings, sloth encounter, and presentations that cost extra which we decided not to do. There are some additional free events throughout the day, but we were content to walk through the displays.

Watch your head as you re going through the different areas because some of these birds will fly right by! All sorts of species are on display from parrots, ducks, penguins, flamingoes, and tons of others I can t name. My favorite is the grasslands room with all the little finches. It is a perfect place to grab a seat on a bench and rest peacefully for a while.

There is another, larger gift shop deeper into the building with the usual bird-themed toys. There is also a cafeteria if you want to grab lunch, though we skipped out on that. Overall, the facility was clean and orderly (as much as you can expect with dozens of kids running about).

All in all, I consider the $17 price tag the cost of supporting a worthwhile organization. It may be small, but you get to be closer to the birds than most of the animals at the zoo. I think this would be a great location for families with kids who may not be ready to take in a full day at the zoo. And even if you re an adult, it is a unique spin on a zoo-like experience. We ll definitely be back at some point!

Good afternoon destination to take the kids for a few hours.

Disappointed in the Living Dinosaurs displays. We kept searching for it as advertised. When we asked worker there where they were, she said the birds were the living dinosaurs, like we were stupid!!! Too many extras for $5 each. Admission high enough now u r charging for side shows??? Love the Aviary but this promo is a joke.

Got the ticket to feed the toucan...worth every penny! The penguins love to play!

Spent opening to closing there. Even with the tropical rainforest area closed down for repairs, it is overwhelming for avid bird lovers. The cafe there has good prices, and the food is delicious - especially the fries. It's awesome, how up close and personal most of the exhibits let you get to birds. The aviary parking lot is tiny, and holds around 20 vehicles. But there is plenty of side of the road parking nearby.

Was very nice for the fam . Had a good day and discounts are also available if you have a PA access card it's only $2 admission

Great place!!! Thankful to have a national aviary in Pittsburgh

Very educational. Immersive exhibits allow you to see the birds up close. Staff is well informed and helpful. Plan to spend at least two hours walking through exhibits. Penguins are fed 3 times a day and it's a lot of fun to watch.

Small but well done aviary. On the expensive side for what you get, but then again you can, for a fee, get to interact with the birds

We recently went to a wedding here, and it was such a great venue. Touring the exhibits in between the reception and dinner was a great way to kill time!